Avatar representation of users within proximity using approved avatars

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and apparatuses are directed to facilitating avatar representation of users within proximity using approved avatars. In one embodiment, logic may be configured to determine communication devices that are within a proximity threshold. The determined communication devices may include first and second communication devices that are associated with first and second users, respectively. The first user may be associated with a first avatar and the second user may be associated with a second avatar. The logic may also be configured to determine a request initiated at the first communication device for avatar information associated with one or more users of the determined communication devices. The logic may further be configured to provide the second avatar to the first user via the first communication device based on determining that the second avatar is included in an approved avatar set.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority and benefit to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/697,473, filed on Sep. 6, 2012, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to avatar representation of users, andin particular, to avatar representation of users within proximity usingapproved avatars,

BACKGROUND ART

Service platforms such as the Intel Connect Center (ICC) platform may beutilized to enable communication among users in a local area via theirrespective communication devices. For example, the ICC platform mayenable discovery of communication devices within certain proximity.Dashboard applications on those communication devices may then presentusers of the communication devices as avatars (e.g., graphicalrepresentations of the users and/or characters of the users) toeffectively alert the users of other users in the local area with whomthey may interact. However, since users may typically customize theiravatars, some of the presented avatars may include content that areoffensive or otherwise inappropriate to one or more of the users, whichmay negatively impact the user experience of the offended users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a high-level functional block diagram of a system forfacilitating avatar representation of users within proximity usingapproved avatars, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict scenarios illustrating avatar representation ofusers within proximity using approved avatars, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure,

FIG. 3 depicts a scenario illustrating user configuration of avatarrepresentation of users within proximity, in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts a high-level functional block diagram of a communicationdevice, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 depicts a high-level functional block diagram of a networkserver, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure,

FIG. 6 depicts a high-level flow diagram of a process for facilitatingavatar representation of users within proximity using approved avatars,in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure,

FIG. 7 depicts a high-level flow diagram of a process for facilitatingavatar representation of users using service platform avatars, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the description that follows, like components have been given thesame reference numerals, regardless of whether they are shown indifferent embodiments. To illustrate an embodiment(s) of the presentdisclosure in a clear and concise manner, the drawings may notnecessarily be to scale and certain features may be shown in somewhatschematic form. Features that are described and/or illustrated withrespect to one embodiment may be used in the same way or in a similarway in one or more other embodiments and/or in combination with orinstead of the features of the other embodiments,

In accordance with various embodiments of this disclosure, devices,systems, and/or methods for facilitating avatar representation of userswithin proximity using approved avatars are proposed. In one embodiment,an electronic device for facilitating avatar representation of userswithin proximity using approved avatars may include a memory unit, andlogic configured to: determine communication devices that are within aproximity threshold, wherein the determined communication devicesinclude first and second communication devices, the first communicationdevice is associated with a first user, the second communication deviceis associated with a second user, the first user is associated with afirst avatar, and the second user is associated with a second avatar;receive a request initiated at the first communication device for avatarinformation associated with one or more users of the determinedcommunication devices; and provide the second avatar to the first uservia the first communication device based on determining that the secondavatar is included in an approved avatar set.

In another embodiment, a system for facilitating avatar representationof users within proximity using approved avatars may includecommunication devices associated with users and an electronic devicethat includes a memory unit and logic configured to: determine one ormore of the communication devices that are within a proximity threshold,wherein the determined communication devices include first and secondcommunication devices, the first communication device is associated witha first user, the second communication device is associated with asecond user, the first user is associated with a first avatar, and thesecond user is associated with a second avatar; receive a requestinitiated at the first communication device for avatar informationassociated with one or More users of the determined communicationdevices; and provide the second avatar to the first user via the firstcommunication device based on determining that the second avatar isincluded in an approved avatar set.

In another embodiment, a method for facilitating avatar representationof users within proximity using approved avatars may include:determining communication devices that are within a proximity threshold,wherein the determined communication devices include first and secondcommunication devices, the first communication device is associated witha first user, the second communication device is associated with asecond user, the first user is associated with a first avatar, and thesecond user is associated with a second avatar; receiving a requestinitiated at the first communication device for avatar informationassociated with one or more users of the determined communicationdevices; and providing the second avatar to the first user via the firstcommunication device based on determining that the second avatar isincluded in an approved avatar set.

These and other features and characteristics, as well as the methods ofoperation and functions of the related elements of structure and thecombination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become moreapparent upon consideration of the following description and theappended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all ofwhich form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts in the various figures. It is to beexpressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration and description only and are not intended as a definitionof the limits of claims. As used in the specification and in the claims,the singular form of “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referentsunless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

FIG. 1 depicts a high-level functional block diagram of a system 100 forfacilitating avatar representation of users within proximity usingapproved avatars, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated, system 100 includes communication devices102, a network access point 104, and a network server 106. It should benoted that communication devices 102 may represent any of a number ofelectronic and/or computing devices, both wireless and wired. As such,in some embodiments, communication devices 102 may comprise desktops,laptops, mobile devices, smart phones, gaming devices, tablet computers,and/or other devices.

Communication device 102 and/or other devices may communicate overnetwork access point 104 and/or a communication network 108, forinstance, to interact with a network server 106 or to perform otherfunctions. It should be noted that the communication mechanisms andnetworks as described herein are not intended to be limiting in any way,as the communications could be based on one or more standards andprotocols including, but not limited to, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct,Bluetooth, NFC, radio frequency, GSM, CDMA, GPRS, 3G or 4G (e.g., WiMAX,LTE, etc.) cellular standards, Wireless USB, satellite communication,infrared, sonar, etc., and communication network 108 may comprise theInternet or any other suitable network, such as peer-to-peer, intranets,extranets, etc. In one embodiment, communication network 108 may includenetwork access point 104 to facilitate communication betweencommunication device 102 and other devices within communication network108. In some embodiments, network access point 104 and communicationdevices 102 may include short-range wireless devices that employ one ormore short-range wireless standards and protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi, Wi-FiDirect, Bluetooth, NFC, etc.), to facilitate communication amongcommunication devices 102. By way of example, communication devices 102may utilize Wi-Fi Direct to connect to one another without the need fora separate wireless access point (e.g., network access point 104).

In one embodiment, with respect to FIG. 1, an electronic device maydetermine communication devices 102 that are within a proximitythreshold associated with a proximity of a first communication device102 (e.g., device 102 a, device 102 b, etc.), a network access point104, and/or other point. By way of illustration, the electronic devicemay determine that the first communication device 102 and a secondcommunication device 102 are within the proximity threshold. The firstcommunication device 102 may be associated with a first user and thesecond communication device 102 may be associated with a second user.The first user may be associated with a first avatar and the second usermay be associated with a second avatar. The electronic device maydetermine a request initiated at the first communication device 102 foravatar information associated with one or more users of the determinedcommunication devices 102. In response to the request, the electronicdevice may provide the second avatar to the first user via the firstcommunication device 102 based on determining that the second avatar isincluded in an approved avatar set. For example, the second avatar maybe provided to the first user by facilitating presentation of the secondavatar to the first user via the first communication device 102. Itshould be noted that, in some embodiments, the electronic device may bethe first communication device 102, the network server 106, and/or otherdevices.

Along these lines, FIGS. 2A and 2B depict scenarios 200 and 202illustrating avatar representation of users within proximity usingapproved avatars, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. With respect to FIG. 2A, scenario 200 illustratescommunication devices 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c that are within a wirelessconnection range 204 of network access point 104. In one use case,network server 106 may determine that communication devices 102 a, 102b, and 102 c are within wireless connection range 204, for instance, viaa discovery operation, Upon discovery, network server 106 may initiate asession exchange with each of communication devices 102 a, 102 b, and102 c. The session exchange may, for instance, include retrieving ausername, status information, application identifiers of applications atthe respective communication device 102, a hash of an avatar associatedwith a user of the respective communication device 102, and/or otherinformation. Moreover, network server 106 may initiate an avatarexchange with a communication device 102 to update a user's avatarinformation. For example, when network server 106 receives the avatarhash from the communication device 102 during the session exchange, itmay determine that the received avatar hash does not match the avatarhash stored at network server 106 for the user associated with thecommunication device 102. Such a determination may indicate that theuser has changed his/her avatar information. Thus, network server 106may sent a request to the communication device 102 to retrieve theuser's updated avatar information from the communication device 102 andstore the updated avatar information at network server 106.

In another use case, with respect to FIG. 2A, applications such as anapplication associated with a user interface 210 may be registered withnetwork server 106. Registered applications may, for instance, receiveupdates relating to user information associated with users of theapplications. The user information updates may, for instance, includeupdates to username, status information, avatar information (e.g., anavatar, a hash of the avatar, etc.), and/or other information. It shouldbe noted that, in some embodiments, the updates that are received byapplications at communication devices 102 may be based on user settingsassociated with users of communication devices 102. By way of example,applications at communication devices 102 of users that specify a desireto only be presented with approved avatars may only receive updatedapproved avatars. As such, in one embodiment, an application may nothave access to an unapproved avatar if the user of the application hasopted not to see unapproved avatars.

In a further use case, the applications may initiate requests for userinformation relating to users of communication devices 102 that aredetermined to be within wireless connection range 204. For example, inscenario 200, an application at communication device 102 a may initiatea request for avatars associated with users of communication devices 102within wireless connection range 204. As shown by FIG. 2A, the user ofcommunication device 102 a is associated with avatar 206 a, the user ofcommunication device 102 b is associated with avatar 206 b, and the userof communication device 102 c is associated with avatar 206 c. Asdepicted by inappropriate content indicator 208, avatar 206 c mayinclude content that is potentially offensive or otherwiseinappropriate. Thus, avatar 206 c may be an unapproved avatar that isnot included in an approved avatar set, while avatars 206 a and 206 bmay be approved avatars that are included in the approved avatar set.The approved avatar set may, for instance, be a set of avatars that havebeen approved by an administrator (e.g., to be family friendly,non-offensive, appropriate, etc.), a set of avatars that is packagedwith a service platform associated with the application at communicationdevice 102 a, a set of avatars that are provided as an official updateto the service platform, and/or other set of avatars that have beenapproved. In scenario 200, the user of communication device 102 a mayhave specified a desire to avoid presentation of offensive or otherwiseinappropriate avatars. As a result, in response to the avatar request,network server 106 may provide the application at communication device102 with avatar 206 b to represent the user of communication device 102b in user interface 210 and with an approved avatar 212 (in lieu ofavatar 206 c) from the approved avatar set to represent the user ofcommunication device 102 c in user interface 210.

With respect to FIG. 2B, scenario 202 illustrates communication devices102 a, 102 b, and 102 b that are within a wireless connection range 214of communication device 102 a. In addition to knowing such informationabout itself, communication device 102 a may determine thatcommunication devices 102 b and 102 c are within wireless connectionrange 214 via a discovery operation (e.g., using short-range wirelessstandards or protocols). Communication device 102 a may then initiate asession exchange and/or an avatar exchange with each of communicationdevices 102 b and 102 c to retrieve user information (e.g., username,status information, an avatar associated with the user, a hash of theavatar, etc.) and/or other information from communication devices 102 band 102 c.

As such, in one use case, when an application at communication device102 a initiates a request for avatars representing users ofcommunication devices 102 within wireless connection range 214, avatars206 a, 206 b, and 206 c may already be stored at communication device102 a as associated with users of communication devices 102 a, 102 b,and 102 c. As noted above, avatars 206 a and 206 b may be approvedavatars that are included in an approved avatar set, while avatar 206 cmay be an unapproved avatar that is potentially offensive or otherwiseinappropriate. The approved avatar set may, for instance, be a set ofavatars that have been approved by an administrator (e.g., to be familyfriendly, non-offensive, appropriate, etc.), a set of avatars that ispackaged with a service platform associated with the application atcommunication device 102 a, a set of avatars that are provided as anofficial update to the service platform, and/or other set of avatarsthat have been approved. In scenario 202, the user of communicationdevice 102 a may have specified a desire to avoid presentation ofoffensive or otherwise inappropriate avatars. Thus, in response to theavatar request, communication device 102 a may interact with theapplication to present the user of communication device 102 a withavatar 206 a and 206 b to represent the users of communication devices102 a and 102 b in user interface 210 and with approved avatar 212 (inlieu of avatar 206 c) from the approved avatar set to represent the userof communication device 102 c in user interface 210.

As noted above, with respect to scenarios 200 and 202 of FIGS. 2A and26, a user may specify a desire to avoid presentation of offensive orotherwise inappropriate avatars. For example, FIG. 3 depicts a scenario300 illustrating user configuration of avatar representation of userswithin proximity, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. In scenario 300, a user may utilize a user interface 302 tolaunch an avatar settings window 304 which enables the user to selectpresentation options associated with avatars. As depicted, the user hasselected to only show user avatars from a collection of family friendlyavatars, as opposed to showing all user avatars. As a result, avatarsrepresenting users of communication devices 102 within a proximitythreshold (e.g., threshold associated with a proximity of acommunication device 102, a network access point 104, and/or otherpoint) that are included in the collection of family friendly avatarsmay be presented to the user, while avatars from the collection offamily friendly avatars may be presented to the user in lieu of avatarsrepresenting those users that are not included in the collection offamily friendly avatars. In this way, avatar representation of userswithin proximity using approved avatars may protect users from offensiveor otherwise inappropriate content, improve user experience resultingtherefrom, and/or provide other benefits.

In some embodiments, returning to FIG. 1, avatars may be associated withrespective hashes to identify the avatars, to determine whether avatarsare approved avatars via hash comparisons with hashes associated with anapproved avatar set, and/or other purposes. As such, the first avatar ofthe first user may be associated with a first hash and the second avatarof the second user may be associated with a second hash. As discussedabove, a request may be initiated at the first communication device 102(that is utilized by the first user) for avatar information associatedwith one or more users of communication devices 102 determined to bewithin a proximity threshold (e.g., threshold associated with aproximity of a communication device 102, a network access point 104,and/or other point). Such determined communication devices 102 may, forinstance, include the second communication device 102 that is utilizedby the second user. The second avatar associated with the second usermay be provided to the first user via the first communication device 102based on the second avatar being included in an approved avatar set. Forexample, in one embodiment, the first communication device 102, networkserver 106, and/or other devices may determine that the second avatar isincluded in the approved avatar set based on determining that the secondhash matches an approved hash associated with the approved avatar set(e.g., the second hash is the same as the approved hash, specificportions of the second hash are the same as the corresponding portionsof the approved hash, etc.). The approved hash may, for instance, be ahash corresponding to a particular approved avatar in the approvedavatar set, and the second avatar may be the particular approved avatar.

In some embodiments, the communication devices 102 determined to bewithin the proximity threshold may include a third communication device102 associated with a third user. In one embodiment, the firstcommunication device 102, network server 106, and/or other devices mayprovide an approved avatar from the approved avatar set, in lieu of thethird avatar, to the first user via the first communication device 102based on determining that a third avatar associated with the third useris not included in the approved avatar set. For example, as shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B, approved avatar 212 is presented in lieu of avatar 206c to the user of communication device 102 a to represent the user ofcommunication device 102 c in user interface 210. In this way, the userof communication device 102 a may be protected from the potentiallyoffensive or otherwise inappropriate content of avatar 206 c.

As noted above, in some embodiments, the first avatar of the first usermay be associated with a first hash and the second avatar of the seconduser may be associated with a second hash. In addition, in oneembodiment, the third avatar may be associated with a third hash. Asdiscussed, the second avatar may be determined to be included in theapproved avatar set based on determining that the second hash matches atleast one approved hash associated with the approved avatar set. On theother hand, the third avatar may be determined to not be included in theapproved avatar set based on determining that the third hash does notmatch at least one approved hash associated with the approved avatarset. Thus, in response to an avatar request initiated at the firstcommunication device 102, the second avatar may be provided to the firstuser (e.g., to represent the second user) while an approved avatar maybe provided in lieu of the third avatar to the first user (e.g., torepresent the third user) based on determining that the second hashmatches at least one approved hash and that the third hash does notmatch at least one approved hash.

FIG. 4 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram ofcommunication device 102, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure. As an example, communication device 102 may includea variety of peripheral components 402, such as, for example, displayscreen 404, speaker 406, microphone 408, camera 410, input devices 412,as well as a system-on-a-chip (SoC) 414, memory 416, a transceiver 418(e.g., wireless transceiver), an antenna 420 (e.g., RF antenna), acommunication module 422, a discovery module 424, a hash comparisonmodule 426, and/or other components. Communication device 102 may, forinstance, also include a bus infrastructure and/or other interconnectionmeans to connect and communicate information between various componentsof communication device 102.

In some embodiments, SoC 414 may be part of a core processing orcomputing unit of communication device 102, and may be configured toreceive and process input data and instructions, and to provide outputand/or control other components of communication device 102, inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. SoC 414 mayinclude a microprocessor, a memory controller, a memory and othercomponents. The microprocessor may further include a cache memory (e.g.,SRAM), which along with the memory of SoC 414 may be part of a memoryhierarchy to store instructions and data. The microprocessor may alsoinclude one or more logic modules such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or other logic array. Communication between the SoC 414'smicroprocessor and memory may be facilitated by the memory controller(or chipset), which may also facilitate communication with peripheralcomponents 402.

Memory 416 may be a dynamic storage device coupled to the businfrastructure and configured to store information, instructions, andprograms (e.g., such as applications integrated with software modules ofcommunication device 102) to be executed by processors of SoC 414 and/orother processors (or controllers) associated with communication device102. Some of all of memory 416 may be implemented as Dual In-line MemoryModules (DIMMs), and may be one or more of the following types ofmemory: Static random access memory (SRAM), Burst SRAM or SynchBurstSRAM (BSRAM), Dynamic random access memory (DRAM), Fast Page Mode DRAM(FPM DRAM), Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM), Extended Data Output RAM (EDO RAM),Extended Data Output DRAM (EDO DRAM), Burst Extended Data Output DRAM(BEDO DRAM), Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), JEDECSRAM,PCIOO SDRAM, Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced SDRAM(ESDRAM), SyncLink DRAM (SLDRAM), Direct Rarnbus DRAM (DRDRAM),Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), or any other type of memory device.Communication device 102 may also include read only memory (ROM) and/orother static storage devices coupled to the bus infrastructure andconfigured to store static information and instructions for processorsof SoC 414 and/or other processors (or controllers) associated withcommunication device 102.

Transceiver 418 may be configured to transmit and receive signals. Forexample, transceiver 418 may be a wireless transceiver that includes atransmitter and a receiver for transmitting and receiving wirelesssignals (e.g., via antenna 420). The transmitter and the receiver may,for instance, be combined and share common circuitry or a singlehousing. Communication module 422 may utilize the transceiver totransmit and receive messages. Moreover, communication module 422 mayperform initially processing of the messages to determine where themessages are to be forwarded and/or how those messages should be furtherprocessed.

Discovery module 424 may be configured to discover other communicationdevices 102 that are in the local area (e.g., within a proximity of acommunication device 102, a network access point 104, and/or otherpoint). Discovery module 424 may, for instance, utilize short-rangestandards or protocols, such as Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, NFC,etc.) to discover the other communication devices in the local area.Discover module 424 may also utilize information from other sources,such as network access point 104, network server 106, etc., to discovercommunication devices that are in the local area.

Hash comparison module 426 may be configured to determine whether anavatar associated with a user of a discovered communication device isincluded in an approved avatar set. For example, hash comparison module426 may compare a hash (e.g., computed by hash comparison module 426 orotherwise obtained by other means) corresponding to the avatar to a setof hashes associated with the approved avatar set. If, for instance, thehash corresponding to the avatar matches at least one of the hashes inthe hash set, the avatar may be determined to be an approved avatar ofthe approved avatar set. On the other hand, if the has corresponding tothe avatar does not match at least one of the hashes in the hash set,the avatar may be determined to be an unapproved avatar that is notincluded in the approved avatar set.

FIG. 5 depicts a highlevel functional block diagram of network server106, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As anexample, network server 106 may include processor 502, memory 504, API506, a communication module 508, a discovery module 510, a hashcomparison module 512, and/or other components. It should be noted that,in some embodiments, network server 106 may include components that arethe same as or similar to components of communication device 102 asshown in FIG. 4, as well as one or more other components, to facilitateavatar representation of users within proximity using approved avatars.

By way of example, processor 502 and memory 504 may perform the same orsimilar functions as SoC 414 and memory 416 of FIG. 4 as describedabove. In addition, communication module 508, discovery module 510, andhash comparison module 512 may perform the same or similar functions ascommunication module 422, discovery module 424, and hash comparisonmodule 426 of FIG. 4 as described above. It should also be noted thatwhile networks server 106 may include components that are the same orsimilar to components of communication device 102, those components aswell as other components may be configured for network serveroperations. For example, processing and storage capabilities associatedwith processor 502 and memory 504 may be greater than processing andstorage capabilities associated with SoC 414 and memory 416.

Furthermore, API 506 may be configured to enable developers (e.g.,independent software vendors (ISVs)) to develop applications forinteracting with a service platform associated with network server 106.In some embodiments, applications may initiate API calls defined by API506 to interact with one or more other applications, communicationdevices 102, network access point 104, network service 106, etc.

FIG. 6 depicts a high-level flow diagram of a process for facilitatingavatar representation of users within proximity using approved avatars,in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. It shouldbe noted that the process of FIG. 6 is intended to be illustrative. Insome embodiments, the process of FIG. 6 may be occur with one or moreadditional blocks not described, and/or without one or more of theblocks discussed. Additionally, the order with respect to the processthat is illustrated in FIG. 6 and described below is not intended to belimiting. With such understanding in mind, in block 602, an electronicdevice may determine communication devices 102 that are within aproximity threshold. The proximity threshold may, for instance, beassociated with a proximity of a given communication device 102, networkaccess point 104, and/or other point. As discussed above, in someembodiments, the electronic device may be one of the determinedcommunication devices 102, network server 106, and/or other device.

In block 604, the electronic device may determine a request initiated ata first communication device 102 that is determined to be within theproximity threshold. Upon processing of the request, the electronicdevice may determine that the request is for avatar informationassociated with one or more users of the communication devices 102determined to be within the proximity threshold (e.g., second and thirdcommunication devices 102).

In block 606, the electronic device may determine whether user avatarsprovided to the user of the first communication device 102 should berestricted to approved avatars associated with an approved avatar set.For example, if the user of the first communication device 102 hasspecified that such a restriction should not be applied (e.g., byselecting an option to allow all avatars to be presented), the processof FIG. 6 may proceed to block 608. In block 608, one or more useravatars associated with the users of the communication devices 102 thatare determined to be within the proximity threshold may be provided tothe user of the first communication device 102. For example, the useravatars may be provided to the user of the first communication device102 by presenting the user avatars to the user via a user interface ofthe first communication device 102.

On the other hand, with respect to block 606, if the user of the firstcommunication device 102 has specified that such a restriction should beapplied (e.g., by selecting an option to prohibit presentation ofunapproved avatars), the process of FIG. 6 may proceed to block 610. Inblock 610, the electronic device may determine for each of the useravatars associated with the users of the determined communicationdevices 102 whether the user avatar is included in an approved avatarset. For example, a user avatar may be determined to be an approvedavatar of the approved avatar set if a hash corresponding to the useravatar matches a hash corresponding to one of the approved avatars ofthe approved avatar set. If, for instance, the user avatar is determinedto be included in the approved avatar set, the process of FIG. 6 mayproceed to block 608 to provide the user avatar to the user of the firstcommunication device 102. Otherwise, the process of FIG. 6 may proceedto block 612.

In block 612, the electronic device may provide one of the approvedavatars from the approved avatar set in lieu of the user avatar to theuser of the first communication device 102. For example, instead ofutilizing the user avatar to represent the user associated with the useravatar, the approved avatar may be utilized by an application of thefirst communication device 102 to represent the user associated with theuser avatar to the user of the first communication device 102.

FIG. 7 depicts a high-level flow diagram of a process for facilitatingavatar representation of users using service platform avatars, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. It should benoted that the process of FIG. 7 is intended to be illustrative. In someembodiments, the process of FIG. 7 may be occur with one or moreadditional blocks not described, and/or without one or more of theblocks discussed. Additionally, the order with respect to the processthat is illustrated in FIG. 7 and described below is not intended to belimiting. With such understanding in mind, in block 702, a sessionexchange may be initiated with one or more communication devices 102.For example, the session exchange may be initiated with communicationdevices 102 that are determined to be within a proximity threshold(e.g., threshold associated with a proximity of a communication device102, a network access point 104, and/or other point). The sessionexchange may include retrieving a username, status information,application identifiers of applications at the respective communicationdevice 102, a hash of an avatar associated with a user of the respectivecommunication device 102, and/or other information.

In block 704, an avatar exchange may be initiated with at least one ofthe communication devices 102 to update a user's avatar information. Forexample, an avatar hash that is received from the communication device102 during the session exchange may not match a stored avatar hash(e.g., stored at network server 106, communication device 102, etc.)that correspond to a user avatar of the user of the communicationdevice. The mismatch may, for instance, indicate that the user haschanged his/her avatar information. Thus, a request may be sent to thecommunication device 102 to retrieve the user's updated avatarinformation from the communication device 102 and store the updatedavatar information.

In block 706, applications may be updated with new and/or modified userinformation. The user information may include username, statusinformation, avatar information (e.g., an avatar, a hash of the avatar,etc.), and/or other information. It should be noted that, in someembodiments, the updates that are received by applications atcommunication devices 102 may be based on user settings associated withusers of communication devices 102. By way of example, applications atcommunication devices 102 of users that specify a desire to only bepresented with approved avatars may only receive updated approvedavatars. As such, in one embodiment, an application may not have accessto an unapproved avatar if the user of the application has opted not tosee unapproved avatars.

For example, as indicated in block 708, a user of a communication device102 may specify whether custom avatars (as opposed to generic serviceplatform avatars) may be presented to the user. If, for instance, theuser allows custom avatars, the process of FIG. 7 may proceed to block710 where a user avatar may be sent to the application at thecommunication device 102 without needing to check to see if the useravatar is a custom avatar.

On the other hand, if the user does not allow custom avatars, theprocess of FIG. 7 may proceed to block 712 where the corresponding hashof the user avatar is checked against a hash table associated withservice platform avatars (e.g., official service platform avatars). Ifthe corresponding hash is determined to be in the hash table (e.g.,there is a match), the user avatar is sent to the application at thecommunication device 102 (as shown by block 710). However, if therecorresponding hash is not in the hash table (e.g., no match was found),one of the service platform avatars may be sent to the application atthe communication device 102 to represent the user of the communicationdevice 102 in lieu of the user avatar (as shown by block 714).

By virtue of the disclosed configurations and processes, with respect torepresenting users in proximity using approved avatars, a number ofbenefits are achieved. Some of these benefits may, for instance, includeprotection from offensive or otherwise inappropriate content, improveduser experience resulting therefrom, and/or other benefits.

Having thus described the basic concepts, it will be rather apparent tothose skilled in the art after reading this detailed disclosure that theforegoing detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way ofexample only and is not limiting. Various alterations, improvements, andmodifications will occur and are intended to those skilled in the art,though not expressly stated herein. These alterations, improvements, andmodifications are intended to be suggested by this disclosure, and arewithin the spirit and scope of the exemplary aspects of this disclosure.

Moreover, certain terminology has been used to describe embodiments ofthe present disclosure. For example, the terms “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” and/or “some embodiments” mean that a particular feature,structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or morereferences to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternative,embodiment” in various portions of this specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures or characteristics may be combined assuitable in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Inaddition, the term “logic” is representative of hardware, firmware,software (or any combination thereof) to perform one or more functions.For instance, examples of “hardware” include, but are not limited to, anintegrated circuit, a finite state machine, or even combinatorial logic.The integrated circuit may take the form of a processor such as amicroprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit, a digitalsignal processor, a micro-controller, or the like.

Furthermore, the recited order of method, processing elements, orsequences, or the use of numbers, letters, or other designationstherefore, is not intended to limit the claimed processes and methods toany order except as can be specified in the claims. Although the abovedisclosure discusses through various examples what is currentlyconsidered to be a variety of useful aspects of the disclosure, it is tobe understood that such detail is solely for that purpose, and that theappended claims are not limited to the disclosed aspects, but, on thecontrary, are intended to cover modifications and equivalentarrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the disclosedaspects.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description ofembodiments of the present disclosure, various features are sometimesgrouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereoffor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure aiding in theunderstanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. Thismethod of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed subject matter requires more features thanare expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a singleforegoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detaileddescription are hereby expressly incorporated into this detaileddescription.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a processor; andmemory coupled to the processor, the memory including instructions that,when executed the processor, cause the processor to: identify acommunication device that is within a proximity threshold, wherein thecommunication device is associated with an avatar; receive a hashassociated with the avatar; determine whether the received hash matchesone of a plurality of stored hashes for a user of the electronic device,the received hash corresponding to an image representation of theavatar, and the plurality of stored hashes corresponding to a set ofapproved avatar images; responsive to a determination that the receivedhash does not match any of the plurality of stored hashes, provide anapproved image representation of an approved avatar from the set ofapproved avatar images for display at the electronic device, theapproved image representation of the approved avatar from the set ofapproved avatar images used to represent a user of the communicationdevice instead of the image representation of the avatar; and causingdisplay of the approved image representation of the approved avatar fromthe set of approved avatar images to represent the user of thecommunication device while prohibiting display of the imagerepresentation of the avatar.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the electronic device comprises a network server.
 3. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further caused toidentify that a second communication device is within the proximitythreshold, the second communication device associated with a secondavatar associated with a second hash and wherein the processor isfurther caused to determine whether the second hash matches any of theplurality of stored hashes corresponding to the approved avatar set ofimages.
 4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein when the secondhash matches one of the plurality of stored hashes, the processor isfurther to cause an image representation of the second avatar to bedisplayed.
 5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the proximitythreshold is associated with a proximity of one or more of a networkaccess point or the communication device, and the proximity isassociated with a wireless connection range associated with one or moreof the network access point or the communication device.
 6. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device furthercomprises a display configured to display the approved imagerepresentation of the approved avatar from the set of approved avatarimages in response to the processor causing the display of the approvedimage representation of the approved avatar from the set of approvedavatar images.
 7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further caused to initiate a session exchange with thecommunication device in response to identifying that the communicationdevice is within the proximity threshold.
 8. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is further caused to determine whetherthe received hash matches one of the plurality of stored hashes for theuser of the electronic device in response to a determination that theuser of the electronic device has opted not to see unapproved avatars.9. A method performed by a processor of an electronic device, the methodcomprising: using the processor, identifying a communication device thatis within a proximity threshold, wherein the communication device isassociated with an avatar; receiving a hash associated with the avatar;determining, using the processor, whether the received hash matches oneof a plurality of stored hashes for a user of the electronic device, thereceived hash corresponding to an image representation of the avatar,and the plurality of stored hashes corresponding to a set of approvedavatar images; responsive to a determination that the received hash doesnot match any of the plurality of stored hashes, providing an approvedimage representation of an approved avatar from the set of approvedavatar images for display at the electronic device, the approved imagerepresentation of the approved avatar from the set of approved avatarimages used to represent a user of the communication device instead ofthe image representation of the avatar; and causing display of theapproved image representation of the approved avatar from the set ofapproved avatar images to represent the user of the communication devicewhile prohibiting display of the image representation of the avatar. 10.The method of claim 9, further comprising: identifying that a secondcommunication device is within the proximity threshold, the secondcommunication device associated with a second avatar associated with asecond hash; and determining whether the second hash matches any of eplurality of stored hashes corresponding to the approved avatar set ofimages.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein when the second hash matchesone of the plurality of stored hashes, further comprising providing animage representation of the second avatar for display at the electronicdevice.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the proximity threshold isassociated with a proximity of one or more of a network access point orthe communication device, and the proximity is associated with awireless connection range associated with one or more of the networkaccess point or the communication device.
 13. The method of claim 9,further comprising initiating a session exchange with the communicationdevice in response to identifying that the communication device iswithin the proximity threshold.
 14. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising determining whether the received hash matches one of theplurality of stored hashes for the user of the electronic device inresponse to a determination that the user of the electronic device hasopted not to see unapproved avatars.
 15. At least one non-transitorymachine-readable medium including communication instructions, which whenexecuted by a processor of an electronic device, cause the processor to:identify a communication device that is within a proximity threshold,wherein the communication device is associated with an avatar; receive ahash associated with the avatar; determine whether the received hashmatches one of a plurality of stored hashes for a user of the electronicdevice, the received hash corresponding to an image representation ofthe avatar, and the plurality of stored hashes corresponding to a set ofapproved avatar images; responsive to a determination that the receivedhash does not match any of the plurality of stored hashes, provide anapproved image representation of an approved avatar from the set ofapproved avatar images for display at the electronic device, theapproved image representation of the approved avatar from the set ofapproved avatar images used to represent a user of the communicationdevice instead of the image representation of the avatar; and causingdisplay of the approved image representation of the approved avatar fromthe set of approved avatar images to represent the user of thecommunication device while prohibiting display of the imagerepresentation of the avatar.
 16. The at least one machine-readablemedium of claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the processorto identify that a second communication device is within the proximitythreshold, the second communication device associated with a secondavatar associated with a second hash and wherein the processor isfurther caused to determine whether the second hash matches any of theplurality of stored hashes corresponding to the approved avatar set ofimages.
 17. The at least one machine-readable medium of claim 16,wherein when the second hash matches one of the plurality of storedhashes, the instructions further cause the processor to provide an imagerepresentation of the second avatar for display at the electronicdevice.
 18. The at least one machine-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the proximity threshold is associated with a proximity of one ormore of a network access point or the communication device, and theproximity is associated with a wireless connection range associated withone or more of the network access point or the communication device. 19.The at least one machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein theinstructions further cause the processor to initiate a session exchangewith the communication device in response to identifying thecommunication device is within the proximity threshold.
 20. The at leastone machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructionsfurther cause the processor to determine whether the received hashmatches one of the plurality of stored hashes for the user of theelectronic device in response to a determination that the user of theelectronic device has opted not to see unapproved avatars.